how to file for a lost trailer title?

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I Want to buy this trailer from a guy but he has no title. He claims he lost or never received it from a gentlemen in Katy. My question is, how can I check the vin and is getting a title possible with just the application and bill of sale?

Trailers less than 4000 lb in Texas are not titled. If the trailer has a tag you should be able to take that into the dmv and register it under your name and get a new tag.

If the trailer was not previously registered in Texas you will have to get it inspected and weighed (although you could probably feign ignorance on the weighing part. When I registered my last trailer, the lady was surprised that I had the weight certificate although the dps website at that time said that it was required.)

Yes, any trailer of any size needs to be registered, if you are going to operate it on public roads.

That said, I'd had my HarborFreight 4x8 for 5yrs and never registered it, since I used it for hauling lumber/mulch/cement/etc. from the HomeDepot and Lowes that are right next to my neighborhood. I took a chance, like a lot of folks do, and got away with it.

Last yeat I got back into riding, so I needed it for towing. So I dug out the original sales receipt and Certificate of Origin from HF and registered it. County clerk looked at the CofO and told me it's easier to be registered as a homebuilt. Frankly, County just wants their tax money every year, so for small trailers they apparently don't really care if you have the paperwork or not.

I bought a Kendon trailer from a judge recently that told me that the vin sticker was so weathered that it couldn't be read so he registered it as homemade. I trusted him and took the plate to the tax office and transferred ownership with no problem. Two weeks later I saw the sticker and I can make out the vin.

I had a cop buddy run the vin and it's clean so I'll probably just leave everything as is cause I don't feel like searching for the previous previous owner and paying registration/taxes again.